


Silent But Friendly

by Jeffreysandal



Category: Clarence (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst and Feels, Comfort, Fluff, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, One Shot, Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27231859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeffreysandal/pseuds/Jeffreysandal
Summary: Belson sometimes needs a shoulder to cry on, and with Clarence around, he'll never have to feel alone.
Relationships: Belson Noles/Clarence Wendle
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Silent But Friendly

Belson was having another one of his moments. Throughout his teen years, Belsons grumpiness and petty rudeness never left, but he rather became much more silent. In class, he'd never speak. He didn't seem angry all the time. He just seemed miserable. There'd be days where he wouldn't leave his bed at all, and this is exactly why Cynthia had called up Clarence once again to come over.

Cynthia was left to her own devices with Belson ever since he was born. Taking care of and raising him as a baby to, at least his preschool age, was easy for the woman. This all was true up until Belson started becoming more self aware of his father's absence and excuses. With the stress and clueless ideas of what to do with this kid, Cynthia just found it easier to baby him, which didn't help him growing up to be such a brat. She always unfairly blamed herself.

Belson never wanted to properly learn how emotions and social interactions worked. He'd push people away, no one was worth his time. But to no avail, Clarence stuck around for the majority of all of this.

When he was younger, it wasn't that he fully understood Belsons situation, or what his family life was and why, but he just always saw good in everybody. And he knew Belson was full of himself, an outright rude and blunt kid. Of course, he couldn't believe this was all to him, and even got Belson to crack a few times. Whatever it was, he never stopped.

Belson went from purposefully pushing the chubby blonde away to silently letting him be in his presence. He felt Clarence was the only one who understands, it hurt him how much he understood, really. How even when he was a jerk, he'd push that off and continue to show love and care. How he knew when he was having one of his silent days, or maybe he'd even like to vent a little. Why and how did he decide to put so much thought and care into the short, and short-tempered, Belson?

The reason didn't matter, nor did it ever hit Clarence to ever question why he cared about him so much, all he knew was that Belson needed him today. Immediately after receiving a call from the worrisome Cynthia, he was on another mission.

The blue-eyed blonde stood up from his bunk bed in his dino-themed pajamas and saluted to himself. He went over to his dresser to pick out a pair of blue jeans, a blue shirt, and his favourite ice cream socks. Though his cowboy boots would always cover up his socks, he still felt there was an importance to wearing silly socks everyday. Adds a little fun and flare.

After getting fully dressed, he looked into his body-length mirror with his hands on his hips. His shoulder-length, fluffy blonde mullet was a bed headed mess. As usual, he tied it up in a little bun in the back. He nodded to himself with a serious look on his face as he started to head out his bedroom door.

He walked into his kitchen to quickly get something to eat before he left, it was only a little after lunchtime. Mary, on the couch, looked over to him and smiled.

"Goin' somewhere, Clare-bear?" She asked him lovingly, noting how determined Clarence looked.

"I'm going to Belsons again." He responded, more focused on making a sandwich.

"Okay well, let me know if you go anywhere else or if you end up staying the night, okay?" She asked of him, giving him a quick smile before returning to the TV. Clarence smiled back and picked up the sandwich he had made.

He practically stuffed the whole thing into his mouth as he made his way to the door, nothing unusual, but his mother told him to slow down. He innocently giggled as he slipped on his worn-out brown cowboy boots and his faded purple bomber jacket. Mary waved him goodbye while he made his way out the door. 

Chad was out in the garage playing guitar peacefully. He looked up at Clarence saying goodbye to him.

"I'm headed to Belsons, might not be home for dinner." He yelled to him from the sidewalk.

"Alright bud, loves ya!" Chad yelled back and played Clarence out with his guitar. Clarence smiled cheerfully and continued to walk to Belsons.

The day was blue and beautiful, a nice cloudy sky above him, sun beaming and the air as fresh as it could be. Clarence loved the outdoors. He breathed in all the good vibes he'd capture then bring and give to Belson. His mind wandered off thinking about him.

Clarence always saw the bright side of things, but he had to admit he was heavily worried about his little friend. It's not that he thinks he can fix him, but seeing him this upset makes him unhappy. There's nothing in this world that could ever stop him from trying his best to be there for him, though. The sunshiney, happy-go-lucky Clarence could never be defeated.

It wasn't long before he found himself standing in front of the Noles' residence. The large, uptight fancy look of the house never scared Clarence off. He rather saw it as normal, and didn't see it as too much. He walked up and entered the house without ringing or knocking, it's not like he had to, or ever did anyway.

Cynthia was in the kitchen, probably making a pastry of sorts. She looked up from her mixing bowl and smiled sadly at Clarence.

"Hi, dear. Thank you so much for coming over. He's up in his room, I already let him know you're coming over." She said sweetly. 

"Alright. I won't let you down, Ms. Belson!" He proudly stated, marching up the stairs to Belsons room.

He knocked lightly on his door, which was still filled with signs that said "do not enter" and such. He heard quiet knocks on the other side of the wall, that's their code for "come in."

Clarence slowly opened the door to the dimly lit room. The only light was the little sunlight coming through the blinds on the window. The room looked like it always did. Wires of game consoles all around on the floor, action figures everywhere on shelves and what seemed to be the same characters on posters, and of course there was Belson on his queen-sized bed. All you could see of him was his brown poofy hair sticking out from under the covers.

Clarence pulled off his boots and placed them at the end of the bed, hopped up on the bed and looked over at Belson, who turned his head to him slightly. 

Clarence never forced anything from him, sometimes all they did was sat in silence and that seemed to be enough for Belson. Clarence, of course, always suggested things. 

"Hey Belson." He spoke in a friendly, calm tone. Belson, in response, uncovered some of his face. He had large bags under his eyes, and he kept a grouchy frown on his face. He was completely there, however, and wasn't particularly mad. Clarence knows this.

He smiled at him with furrowed brows as he kicked his feet back and fourth. Belson sent so much joy through him, and no one else seemed to get it. Belson wasn't very friends with his friends, to his knowledge at least. Sumo still had grudges held against him, and Jeff seemed to feel a little uncomfortable around him but stayed out of the drama for the most part. All of that didn't matter. Belson needed someone. 

"Hey, I think one of your favourite artists has a new song out, Belsy. Want me to play it for you?" Clarence suggested. Along with the silence that kept him comfort, sometimes they just sat and listened to some of Belsons favourite music. Music was something that was really comforting for Belson. This is why he hated being criticized for always wearing headphones.

Belson sat up and hugged his knees, and made eye contact with Clarence. This was a sign telling Clarence it was okay to go through with his suggestion.

Clarence scooted further up on the bed and sat crisscrossed, pulling out his phone. He had remembered to download all of Belsons favourite music on his phone for occasions like this, and always kept himself updated on what's new. He put the song on a low volume, just enough so you can hear it but it's not irritatingly loud. 

Belson was a fan of techno-alternative type music, but with a more chill sound. He was also a fan of pop, but kept that mostly to himself.

The sounds of the music played quietly to break the silence between the two, leaving them in a peaceful setting together. Clarence nodded his head along to the beat while Belson rested his head on his knees, tapping his fingers on his legs. He glanced down at Clarence's socks. He turned his head down further as if to hide a smile and averted his eyes to the side. Clarence's goofy socks struck him with some kind of happiness.

Clarence notices all of this, but decides to stay silent because calling Belson out on things that bring him joy seems to make him uncomfortable. He respectfully understands that.

They turned their heads in unison hearing a knock at the door.

"Boys, I have some fresh cookies down here if you'd like some." They hear Cynthia's faint voice say. Clarence looked to Belson who looked back at him and nodded. Clarence smiled and nodded back, hopping off the bed.

As Clarence left to the kitchen downstairs, Belson sat there alone, still hugging his knees. He looked over to the side at his wall. On days like this, it seems everything just hurts for him. He recalls all of the times he thought his dad was going to stay, or hang out with him even for a little bit. But he never stayed. He was always 'working', he always had 'somewhere to be'. 

He picked up on some of his father's selfish ways, and he despised himself for it. With Clarence, he used to look his way and cringe. Always happy, and even when he wasn't, he let the bad stuff bother him. He didn't try and avoid it or fight it off. And he did such a good job being a friend. Even if he hid their friendship from most other people.

Belson had friends. Dustin, Nathan…. Percy? But they always had a hard time seeing through his feelings and comforting Belson when he was like this. They were buddies. They hung out, played video games together, and would push each other around. Clarence wasn't only his friend, but his escape. He didn't feel pressured to do much, not even speaking had to be mandatory to just feel okay with him. 

He hadn't realized it, but there were tears running down Belsons face. He buried his face back into his knees in embarrassment. Why did he ever have to feel empathy? He wasn't used to such a feeling, he was so used to hiding all of this away from everybody.

Clarence entered the room with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk in one hand, another being held by his arm. He looked to Belson and hurried to put the plate and glasses on his desk and sat next to Belson. He could hear only the quietest of cries coming from him, even with Clarence, he still tried to not cry so much.

With Belson, Clarence had to wait and see what he needed at these moments. Sometimes he just needed to let it out, sometimes he spoke and sometimes he didn't. He put an arm around him to know he was in his company. Belson leaned into the touch, still hiding his face.

They sat there like that for a few minutes until Belsons weeping seemed to calm down and his back fell up and down slower as he gained back more chill. He looked up ever so slightly at Clarence with tear stained cheeks and red eyes. Clarence ruffled his hair lightly in the front and grinned at him. 

"Thank you, Clarence." Belson croaked out as he continued to look up at Clarence. Clarence just smiled wider and reached behind him to give Belson a cookie, which he uncurled himself to take and start nibbling on.

"I got really good at this one Super Mario 64 level." Belson muttered out, looking down at his hands he was fidgeting around with. Clearly, he wanted to show Clarence, so he gladly took the offer.

"Oh, I'd love to watch you play! You're some good at that game." Clarence giggled, giving Belson a happy glance. Belson had what seemed to be the teeniest tiniest smile on his face as he got up and sat on his bean bag in front of the TV in his room, switching the Nintendo on. Clarence kept his bursts of excitement inside as he sat down on the other bean bag next to Belson. 

Belson, to no surprise, was still in his pajamas. The Space Jam shirt he used to wear as a nighty seemed to finally fit him as a regular shirt, and he was wearing Robofrog pajama bottoms. Like Jeff, he seemed to also be a fan of Robofrog. That's probably the only thing those two had in common, however.

Clarence watched in awe and cheered on Belson playing the game. Video games were also one of Belsons big comforts. As a kid, it's all he was accompanied by and he always asked and begged for more. That side of him has died down since then, having so much stuff seemed to only make him more miserable. He actually sold a ton of stuff he didn't even use online, he made sure he kept his favourite games and consoles, though.

Clarence noted that Mario was one of his favourite games, and it made him smile to see he had the Bowser mug he gave him sitting on his desk. It was his favourite character from the game. Even if it took forever to unravel everything Belson liked, he'll take whatever he's got from him and work with it.

Clarence sat back ever so cheerfully and watched Belson and his competitiveness with himself and the game. It made his heart warm to see him up and out of his bed enjoying himself.

Within this time, Cynthia had made dinner for the two, but allowed them to bring it up with them to not disturb Belson in his moment. 

"Hey," Belson began, pausing the game, "we could play Mario Kart together… I know I'm probably better at it though."

Clarence pushed past the awkward nervousness in Belsons voice and clapped his hands together.

"Aw, I'd love to! I wanna be the little green tongue guy." He gushed.

"His name is Yoshi, you dork." Belson said with a smile and snort, switching up the games and handed Clarence a controller.

It wasn't a shock that Belson was correct when saying he'd be better than Clarence. Clarence didn't really see it as 'failing' however, he saw the fun in all of it. 

"Haha, I won first place again!" Belson bragged with a proud snarky smile on his face.

"Dang, I guess you really are good at this game. Good job, Belson!" Clarence congratulated him with joy. Belson was taken back by this a little. It's not that he didn't expect anything different, but the compliment struck him as a response to his brags. He closed his mouth and turned away with faint rosey cheeks.

"Yeah, whatever. Bet I could win the next cup too." He grumbled.

"Hehe, you probably will. I'll play as many rounds as- I can play-" Clarence paused to think before continuing, "I'll play all of the rounds ever!" He finally got out. Belson scoffed at that and selected to play another round.

The two played together for a little while as the sun slowly came down throughout their time spent together. Clarence's mission was completed, and quite successfully he thought. Looking at the time, he thought that maybe he might as well stay the night. As promised, he texted his mother to notify her. Belson didn't seem to want to tell him he didn't want him to leave, so he simply allowed him to stay.

Clarence, considering this could be a possibility at any time, has a spare sleeping bag left at his house which he set up on the floor next to Belson's bed. He was very happy that he got so much out of Belson today, he mentally gave him a gold star. Some of these days didn't go as smoothly, but today seemed to go just fine.


End file.
